Be not troubled...
Mark 13:8 says:
8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.
No one can deny this year has seen it's share of troubles. Four major hurricanes in a row; catastrophic flooding in India and other areas. Wildfires in the Northwest United States, and now, the worst mass shooting on US soil in Las Vegas. One has to wonder how much longer before the entire world collapses in on itself with what's going on. These are only the things that are being reported publicly by the news media, how much more is going on that we don't know about?
How about the volunteers in Baton Rouge that are still helping to meet recovery needs? Or the scads of volunteers in Houston, Rockport, Corpus Christie, Beaumont, and other places in South Texas who are helping those affected by Hurricane Harvey, some of whom are still waiting for their homes to be mudded out while the mold grows day by day? Or the volunteers in South Florida, who made their way from all corners of the country to help? Or the volunteers from even all areas of the world who are sending relief workers to the islands that were flattened by not one but two major hurricanes? Puerto Rico, the US Territory, has problems because the ports were damaged, there were mudslides trapping people in place, and getting relief to them is difficult, if not treacherous. Among some of the volunteers, we can count SBTC, ADRA, the relief workers from Catholic Missions as well as the Mormons...and people are working together to get these folks back on their feet as best they can.
I had one friend who commented on the Las Vegas shooting tonight...she's a travelling nurse and was just at a convention there in Vegas just a week ago. I scrolled through her pictures, enjoying the smiles as she and her fiance enjoyed their time there. Tonight, she is mulling the "what-ifs" in her head...what if the convention was stalled a week and over 1300 travelling nurses were there to help with the situation? How many of the lost would have been saved? How many of the seriously injured would have had less serious injuries because of the number of folks that were there for that convention? What if they had been among the injured? What if?
This world is so full of troubles, that if the news media were to report on all of it, there would be no time for the reporters to sleep. North Korea is a time bomb waiting to go off...there are shootings every day in every major city in the world...here at home, even in the rural areas, we are not immune to the violence that seems to intensify day by day.
So, what are we to do?
Well, praying for God's mercy and His hand of protection is a good place to start, and continue in. Getting involved in the relief effort helps. But what about you and yours? I know the anxiety of seeing everything going on around you doesn't help, but the peace of God certainly does. The thing is, it's not an automatic. When we pray for comfort, most of us pray for peace, and so it seems as if its an automatic thing. But when we're in the midst of something so traumatic as the Vegas shooting, praying for peace is something that is farthest from your mind...whether you're praying for yourself or a loved one. You're praying to get out of there in one piece (or for your loved one), you're praying that there won't be injuries or death, you're praying for others, but in the midst of the chaos, peace is furthest from your mind.
I challenge all who read my blog, please, pray for peace for all who are affected by this tragedy, as well from the others that I mentioned. And not just peace, but for comfort, for strength, for wisdom.
The Apostle Paul said it best in Philippians 4, starting in verse 4:
8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.
No one can deny this year has seen it's share of troubles. Four major hurricanes in a row; catastrophic flooding in India and other areas. Wildfires in the Northwest United States, and now, the worst mass shooting on US soil in Las Vegas. One has to wonder how much longer before the entire world collapses in on itself with what's going on. These are only the things that are being reported publicly by the news media, how much more is going on that we don't know about?
How about the volunteers in Baton Rouge that are still helping to meet recovery needs? Or the scads of volunteers in Houston, Rockport, Corpus Christie, Beaumont, and other places in South Texas who are helping those affected by Hurricane Harvey, some of whom are still waiting for their homes to be mudded out while the mold grows day by day? Or the volunteers in South Florida, who made their way from all corners of the country to help? Or the volunteers from even all areas of the world who are sending relief workers to the islands that were flattened by not one but two major hurricanes? Puerto Rico, the US Territory, has problems because the ports were damaged, there were mudslides trapping people in place, and getting relief to them is difficult, if not treacherous. Among some of the volunteers, we can count SBTC, ADRA, the relief workers from Catholic Missions as well as the Mormons...and people are working together to get these folks back on their feet as best they can.
I had one friend who commented on the Las Vegas shooting tonight...she's a travelling nurse and was just at a convention there in Vegas just a week ago. I scrolled through her pictures, enjoying the smiles as she and her fiance enjoyed their time there. Tonight, she is mulling the "what-ifs" in her head...what if the convention was stalled a week and over 1300 travelling nurses were there to help with the situation? How many of the lost would have been saved? How many of the seriously injured would have had less serious injuries because of the number of folks that were there for that convention? What if they had been among the injured? What if?
This world is so full of troubles, that if the news media were to report on all of it, there would be no time for the reporters to sleep. North Korea is a time bomb waiting to go off...there are shootings every day in every major city in the world...here at home, even in the rural areas, we are not immune to the violence that seems to intensify day by day.
So, what are we to do?
Well, praying for God's mercy and His hand of protection is a good place to start, and continue in. Getting involved in the relief effort helps. But what about you and yours? I know the anxiety of seeing everything going on around you doesn't help, but the peace of God certainly does. The thing is, it's not an automatic. When we pray for comfort, most of us pray for peace, and so it seems as if its an automatic thing. But when we're in the midst of something so traumatic as the Vegas shooting, praying for peace is something that is farthest from your mind...whether you're praying for yourself or a loved one. You're praying to get out of there in one piece (or for your loved one), you're praying that there won't be injuries or death, you're praying for others, but in the midst of the chaos, peace is furthest from your mind.
I challenge all who read my blog, please, pray for peace for all who are affected by this tragedy, as well from the others that I mentioned. And not just peace, but for comfort, for strength, for wisdom.
The Apostle Paul said it best in Philippians 4, starting in verse 4:
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Meditate on These Things
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
It is certain that we will not be able to escape all the trouble in the world, because the Devil knows that his time is short, and he knows his end. He is bent on taking as many "Sons of Adam" (read: humanity) with him to the Lake of Fire with him and his "angels." He is making this world as miserable as he can make it, and he's blinding as many as possible, making them not only blind, but deaf to the Holy Spirit's calling. And right now, for those of us who are Children of God, it looks as if he's winning. But remember, our Weapon is not made with human hands...we have the ability to go boldly into the Throne Room of God, because our Advocate is Jesus, who is the Christ, and the Holy Spirit who makes intercession when we do not have the words. When we follow the Holy Spirit's heeding, we are following directions from God to do the works and tasks that He has set before us. When the devil says we can't withstand the storm, we have the ability to look him in the eye and say, "I am the storm."
Dear Friends, do not be discouraged by what you see going on around us, but instead, lean in...pray fervently, and go boldly to do the works that our Father has set before you. Like I mentioned before, the devil knows his time is short and will make the human race as miserable as he can. It's time God's people make the devil as miserable as possible by pressing in and doing what we are called to do...to help those in need, to pray without ceasing, and to spread the Gospel, the Good News of Christ Risen.
Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice! (Philippians 4:4)
Have a blessed week.
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